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Los Angeles Times: $12.6-million grant will open 13 new L.A. charter schools

09.28.2011

Two California-based charter school organizations have been awarded $12.6 million in federal grants to start 13 new campuses in Los Angeles, federal education officials announced Wednesday.

Columbus Dispatch: Bill to expand school vouchers draws flak

09.28.2011

Public schools are stepping up efforts to derail previously obscure legislation that could divert millions of dollars from taxpayer-funded schools to private and parochial ones.

Times-Picayune: Louisiana charter school monitoring plan ready for review

09.27.2011

The Louisiana Department of Education will lay out a plan for keeping a closer eye on independent charter schools today that includes restructuring the department’s charter office, an increase in funding and more clearly defined roles for the different state officials involved in the job.

Sunshine State News: Low-Income Students Gaining With Tax Credit Scholarships

09.21.2011

Growing participation in the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program is being accompanied by modest academic improvement…

New Jersey Spotlight: New Jersey Can No Longer Afford to Have A Weak Charter School Law

09.20.2011

New Jersey has a dismal record when it comes to getting extra education money from Washington. Most people remember the state’s lost bid…

Kansas City Star: Kansas City School District loses accreditation

09.20.2011

State needs to boost number of authorizers or lose out on more federal money.

A High School Junior’s First Day at CER

06.05.2014

Just over two months ago I was selecting various organizations to interview with for my fellowship at Cesar Chavez PCS- Parkside Campus. The list of organizations ranged from the medical field to politics and I had to choose wisely, because this would be my job for the last three weeks of school. Initially, I was…

Mobile Devices Increasingly Being Seen as Tools for Learning

06.04.2014

Speak Up Report: Mobile Devices Increasingly Being Seen as Tools for Learning Eager minds both novice and seasoned in nature took their seats and conversations gradually simmered down in preparation for vital updates. It appeared that most of the individuals attending the event were concerned not only with receiving information and comprehending it for themselves, but…

Thanks For The Education

05.30.2014

When I arrived in DC at the end of April, the city and what role I might play in it were a mystery to me. For the past six weeks, CER provided me a backstage pass to the national narrative of education reform as it plays out in the DC theater. Through my work at…

Socking It To Staples

05.22.2014

In rather unsurprising fashion, the powers that be at the American Federation of Teachers are taking up a cause with no discernible connection to improving the education of our nation’s students. The AFT Michigan and California chapters are boycotting office supply chain Staples because of the decision to install postal counters in stores, undercutting the…

Are You Ready for the Bee?

05.21.2014

Not to sound harsh, but if you’re not totally psyched for the Scripps National Spelling Bee starting May 28, then you’re doing it wrong. In a five-day-long extravaganza composed of both preliminary and final rounds, 277 spellers will try to advance each step by piecing together some of the most complex, nuanced and just plain…

My Time at CER

05.19.2014

As my semester at CER comes to a close, I can confidently say that I will always be passionate about education reform. As I said in my first blog post, I didn’t really have much background in the complexities of education policy in the U.S., and though I definitely don’t know the solutions yet, I…

Newswire – October 15, 2019

10.15.2019

 THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CANCELLED COLUMBUS DAY but thank God the rest of America had a great time celebrating this weekend. In Pittsburgh the Italians marched with pride and thousands cheered as floats and representatives of all stripes passed by.  New York’s parade went off without controversy, which saw throngs of people of all nationalities lined up…

The District of Columbus Just Cancelled Columbus Day

10.14.2019

How dumb is that move? Let us channel poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning and count the ways. First – who exactly are these “indigenous people” for whom we…

The Solution to the Teacher Shortage? Entrepreneurial Innovation

10.09.2019

By Jeanne AllenAcross the country, states are implementing laws to address what has become reported as an international epidemic — shortages of teachers not just in the US but in almost every country.  Not only are fewer people with state-required credentials not available to teach, but surveys suggest almost half are considering leaving the profession.To…

STRIKES AGAIN?

10.09.2019

Dear Friends:The Chicago Teachers Union is getting ready – it would appear with glee – at the prospect of another teacher strike.  A series of deliberate attempts to disrupt education planned by the AFT, you’ll recall that they walked out on thousands of kids for days at Chicago International Charter School, where they’d taken over some…

Union Strikes Again

10.09.2019

CER IN THE NEWSOctober 3, 2019Read what we think of the actions by the Chicago Teachers Union, which is preparing once again to pull teachers out of classrooms and put kids on the street. From today’s Chicago Tribune.

Newswire – October 8, 2019

10.08.2019

HOORAY FOR HOLLYWOOD.  If you are tired of jokers, adulterers and over the top political messages on the silver screen (not to mention paying $15 for the privilege), have we got a movie for you.  It is “Miss Virginia”,  the eponymous heroine of which is Virginia Walden Ford,  an advocate for parent empowerment who fought the…

New National Report Card for Parents Released

04.10.2013

Indiana’s Parent Power Index (PPI) remains the best in the country, while a new ranking of top ten states emerges, according to the latest report card by The Center for Education Reform (CER).

Governor Bryant to Sign Mississippi Charter School Bill Into Law

04.04.2013

Governor Phil Bryant is poised to sign a modest charter school bill into law on April 17, 2013 that would allow for the creation of charter schools. The Mississippi legislature sent the compromised bill to his desk yesterday after falling to pressure from school districts and special interest groups.

Tennessee Charter Schools Association Becomes First Media Bullpen Partner

03.27.2013

The Center for Education Reform creates a state-based Media Bullpen for organizations, and announces the Tennessee Charter Schools Association as its first partner in this exciting initiative.

Indiana Supreme Court Upholds School Voucher Program

03.26.2013

Today, the Indiana Supreme Court unanimously voted 5-0 to uphold a lower court decision declaring the state’s school voucher program constitutional.

CER President Jeanne Allen Honored At BAEO Annual Symposium

03.18.2013

The Center for Education Reform (CER) President Jeanne Allen was honored with the “Champion Award” by the Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO), a school choice advocacy group that focuses on minorities, for her dedication to providing all families with access to educational options and choice.

Mississippi Moves Closer On New Charter School Measures

03.13.2013

Calling their passage of a broad education bill “the most significant in 30 years,” the Mississippi state senate moved closer to adopting new measures to open charter schools, yet yielded to pressure from school districts in limiting the opportunity for students across the state to have substantive, meaningful choices.

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